The Boy and the Sunday School | Page 8

school of the church would have at least twelve
superintendents to oversee its work, to say nothing of the special
workers, such as Training, Missionary and Temperance. This may seem

like an unnecessary array of officers, but the experienced will admit
that they are essential to good results in teaching boys and girls of
varying requirements. _Not until the Secondary or Teen Age Division
is adequately supervised, will the teen age boy or his religious
education be properly cared for_.
BIBLIOGRAPHY ON THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
Frost.--The Church School (.65).
Cope.--Efficiency in the Sunday School ($1.00).
Lawrance.--Housing the Sunday School ($2.00).
--How to Conduct a Sunday School ($1.25).
Meyer.--The Graded Sunday School in Principle and Practice (.75).
SCHEME OF ORGANIZATION OF THE MODERN SUNDAY
SCHOOL
DIVISIONS AND DEPARTMENTS
===================================================
========= ELEMENTARY | SECONDARY | ADULT | SPECIAL
--------------+---------------+--------------+-------------- Cradle Roll | (A) |
Adult | Missionary (1 Minute-3 | Intermediate | Bible | years) |
Department | Class | --------------| (13-16 years) | Department |
Temperance Beginners' |---------------| (21 years +) | Department |
Senior |--------------| (4-5 years) | Department | Home[1] | Purity
--------------| (17-20 years) | Department | Primary
|===============| Visitation | Department | (B) | Department |
Training (6-8 years) | Teen Age or | | --------------| High School | | Junior
| Department | | Parents Department |===============| |
--------------| Girls' | | | Department | | Parents and | (13-20 years) | |
Teachers | | | | (C) | | | Boys' | | Etc. | Department | | | (13-20 years) | |
===================================================
=========

V
THE BOY AND THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
There are two factors in the above subject--the factor of the boy and the
factor of the Sunday school.
The factor of the boy is the more important of the two, as the Sunday
school exists merely for the purpose of serving the boy. The boy,
therefore, should be thought of first, and the Sunday school should be

planned to meet his needs.
What then is the factor of the boy? "The boy is a many-sided animal,
with budding tastes, clamorous appetites, primitive likes and dislikes,
varied interests; an idealist and hater of shams, a reservoir of nerve
force, a bundle of contradictions, a lover of fun but a possible lover of
the best, a loyal friend of his true friends; impulsive, erratic,
impressionable to an alarming degree." Furthermore, the boy is
maturing, traversing the path from boyhood to manhood, is unstable,
not only in his growth, but also in his thought, is restless because of his
natural instability, and sometimes suffers from headiness and
independence. Between boyhood and manhood he travels swiftly, the
scenery changes quickly as he travels--but he is traveling to manhood.
No railway train or vehicle can keep pace with his speed. Morning sees
him a million miles farther on his way than night reckoned him but half
a day before. And yet, in all of it, he moves by well-defined stages in
his journey towards his destination of maturity. Today he is
individualistic, tomorrow heroic, a little later reflective and full of
thought, but in all of it is progressively active, moving forward by leaps
and bounds. His needs also increase with his pace, and must be fully
and timely met, if he is to reach symmetrical maturity. He needs but
three things to attain his best: proper sustenance, unlimited activity, and
careful guidance. Given these three rightly and at the proper time, the
quality of his manhood will go beyond our fondest hope. The
sustenance must be in keeping with his years, the activity in line with
his strength, and the guidance adapted to the needs of his spirit--firm,
compelling, but not irksome. In it all the boy is to be encouraged in
self-expression, resourcefulness, and independent manhood. Such is a
partial appreciation of the boy and his wonderful capacities, a passing
glimpse into a treasure house of wealth and possibility.
What now is the Sunday school? In the days that are past, it was looked
upon merely as a weekly meeting of boys and girls. Today it is
regarded as an institution for the releasing of great moral and religious
impulses into life. Of late there have even crept into its life the names
and some of the methods of our public school system. Grading and
trained teaching have also come into its life to stay; the modern Sunday
school is but little like that of a decade ago, and the changes are not yet
done with. Some of the innovations will be proved by experience and

retained with modification, while others doubtless will be eliminated as
worthless for the purposes of the Sunday school in its ideals of moral
and religious education. Improvement, however, is in the school
atmosphere.
However, with all the change, past, present and contemplated,